Of Arachnids and Flowers
by Noir Lime Canuto
Summary: DISCONTINUED


**Disclaimer:**This universe and the characters within it are not my own. They belong to Warner Bros. Entertainment, J.K. Rowling, RDR Books, Scholastic Books, and all other respective owners. This is a work of FanFiction that no one will be profiting off of. Seriously, no copyright infringement is intended in the slightest, and I'm super-dooper sorry if it has occurred. Super-dooper.

_**Chapter one**_

"Dad, you _know_ Harry Potter?" the boy asked, trying as hard as he could not to sound surprised.

"Yeah," he answered, his voice casual, "Sort of. We were in the same year at school, see."

His father could be very convincing when he wanted to, but for some reason the boy still suspected he was lying. Mostly it was because when he opened his mouth to ask another question about the famous Harry Potter, his mother shot him a look that said it was the end of that discussion. So, he started a new discussion. One he never tired of.

"Dad," he said, "Tell me about the houses again? Which one were you and Mum in?"

His dad heaved a sigh, but the boy could tell he enjoyed having this discussion. "Well," he said, "For starters there is Slytherin," he smirked, "that's the one I was in. It's for people who happen to possess cunning, and ambition-"

"What's uh-bition?" the boy interrupted. The word sounded familiar, but he wanted to be sure he knew exactly what it meant. His mother smiled unpleasantly.

"A sort of deep desire, mostly of success," he answered, then continued, still smirking, "Then there's Ravenclaw. That's your mothers house. It's for the intelligent sort."

His mother straightened up, in obvious pride. The boy was sort of glad he wouldn't end up in Ravenclaw. His friend Execus had told him that all Ravenclaws were self-righteous gits, and he'd had to punch him, because his mother was a Ravenclaw. At the time he'd thought Execus was just sore because his own mother had been in Hufflepuff, but now he saw that he might have been right.

"Then there's Hufflepuff, for," he paused, seeming to consider how to phrase the words that followed, "those who are loyal and hardworking," seeming satisfied with himself, his father continued, "And lastly, Gryffindor. Basically just if you're especially brave, you go there."

Grinning, the boy pushed a lock of pale, strawberry blond hair out of his face. He grabbed his trunk, careful not to knock the cat-carrier from the top of it, and made to go onto the train, but before he could, his father stopped him, pulling him back for an embrace.

Normally the boy cherished hugs from his father, but today he was excited, a little scared, but mostly excited, and he wanted to get onto the express as soon as possible. Then he could to go Hogwarts, and be sorted, and make friends, and use his new wand, and grow up to be successful wizard. Not that he cared too much about the distant future. At the moment he was anxious for the Hogwarts bit.

Finally his father let him go, grinning and telling him to write him. His mother pleaded with him to write to her as well, but he sensed it was a bit of an afterthought.

_**~o~**_

__Rose entered the train a little bit after Albus had, only to find he was waiting for her.

"Sorry," she said, smiling, "My mum wanted to give me a book, last minute. Apparently _Hogwarts A History_ is useful. Though James said ages ago that we could just talk to the portraits, and they'd probably tell us what we wanted to know."

Albus nodded, unsure as to what to say, and walked alongside Rose as they searched or a compartment. They saw one that was very nearly empty, but had older kids in it, and decided against it, and most of the other compartments were full. Towards the end of their walk, they found a few with only two or three kids in them, about their age or only a little older, and decided they'd go back to one of them if they couldn't find an empty one.

Then they finally did find an empty one. Or, so they thought at first. The child in it, a slight boy, who looked no older then they, was sitting in a corner, stroking a small black kitten. He looked up as they came in, and finally they saw him there.

Albus shot the boy an apologetic smile, and turned round to leave, but Rose caught his arm. "Mind if we join you?" she asked the boy, sitting down as if he'd already answered.

"No, not really," the boy answered, studying them both.

Albus, who had not sat down, looked at Rose pointedly, "Rose," he said, worriedly, "Your dad said that boy--" he stopped when he saw the look she shot him.

"You don't have to sit here, Al, I'm sure James would more than enjoy your company," she informed him coldly.

Albus frowned at her, but sat down. Then he glanced at the boy in the corner with the cat. His features were sharp, but not without a certain softness. His eyes were gray, and downcast. He looked uncomfortable, and rather put-out. Albus felt bad. He hadn't meant to offend the boy. But why hadn't Uncle Ron wanted them to talk to him? Maybe he was a Slytherin? It sounded like his dad was somebody they knew. Did his dad tell them he'd done something awful? Why on earth did Rose want to sit here, instead of another, friendlier compartment?

"Pleased to meet you," Rose said, shifting in her seat so that she could reach her hand across to the boy for him to shake. "My name is Rose. And this is my cousin, Albus."

The boy cast a weary glance at Albus, but then took Rose's hand firmly, shaking it. "I'm Scorpius," he told her, "Pleased to meet you both." Albus didn't think he seemed exactly pleased to meet him, but that was all right. He supposed he didn't seem all that pleased either. He forced a weak smile, which paled in comparison to Rose's broad one.

"Cool name," she commented. She clearly envied it, but not in unpleasant way.

"Thank you," Scorpius replied, smiling, "Yours are nice too."

Rose rolled her eyes in evident disagreement, "Hardly," she said, "_I _was named after a flower. _He _was named after one of the most brilliant men who ever lived. And your name sounds like_ scorpion_, and scorpions are wicked."

Scorpius laughed a little, but not in a condescending way. "But everyone loves roses," he reasoned, "And everyones afraid of scorpions." Rose laughed a little too, and Albus seemed to produce a genuine smile.

"But scorpions are more exciting!" she argued, grinning, "Plus, _I'm_ not afraid of scorpions. I think they're awesome!"

Albus spoke, his voice soft but audible, "But scorpions can sting you, and you can prick your finger on a rose. Personally, I think Albus Dumbledore is the safest name sake."

Rose and Scorpius spoke at once, "But who wants to be safe?"

There was a moment of confusion, where they all tried to figure out exactly what had just happened, and who had spoken. Then is registered, at about the same time for all of them, though Albus was a little faster, and they broke into laughter.

_**~o~**_

Scorpius had never ridden on a boat before. (Generally he traveled about on the back of his fathers broomstick, or via Floo Powder, though the former was preferred.) He had enjoyed the ride very much, whispering excitedly most of the way with Rose, Albus, and a couple other first years who were on the boat with them. One of them was named Lacey Davies, and she seemed all right, but kind of pompous. There was also a set of twins on board, Arleigh and Ramses Kilderbard. They seemed nice enough, but kind of quiet. Probably nervous.

Scorpius wasn't nervous at all. He didn't scare easily. He was sure that he'd be in Slytherin. It had to be the best house. Except maybe for Gryffindor, but he got the feeling that his father didn't like that house much. His mother was in Ravenclaw, and he did _not_ want to turn out like _her_. And then Hufflepuff was so... Eh. It was like, if you weren't especially Brave, or Smart, or Cunning, you got sent there. He didn't want to be in Hufflepuff; he was sure it would be the biggest disappointment to his dad, however much he 'secretly' disliked Gryfindor.

A sort of clumsy, but kind looking man briefed them on what was about to happen. How they'd be sorted and all that. He introduced himself as their Herbology professor, Professor Longbottom. A rather unfortunate name, Scorpius thought, sympathizing with the man. He though he had a rather unfortunate name himself. It seemed to scare people, and make other people angry. He didn't know why, really, his father said it was all his Grandfathers fault. That was about as much as he ever said about his father, and Scorpius never thought it a good idea to inquire further.

As they entered the great hall, Rose whispered to him, "Hope we're in the same house!" then turned to Albus, and seemed to be reassuring him, though Scorpius could exactly hear what she was saying. He hoped so too, Rose seemed like the sort of person he could get on well with.

"_Amurous Midgen?... Hufflepuff!_"

"_Kadellina Smith?... Let's see; Ravenclaw!"_

It was a while before anyone Scorpius had met yet was called up. The twins were sent to Slytherin, and Lacey Davies went to Ravenclaw. Then Albus was sorted. Then a few more people. Then Rose.

_**~x~**_

**Authors Note: **Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! More to come soon. Thanks so much for reading! Reviews appreciated!

_--N. L. Canuto_


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